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^^^^■jj^^* A LECTURE 




THE MANNERS /NO CUSTOMS OF THE J/PANESE, 





AND THE PROGRESS OK 



CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN JAPAN, 



BY 



REV. WM. B. COOPER, 



Of the Protestant Episcopal Mission, Tokio, Japan. 



PlBLISHKli BY IHK 

20ABD OF MANAGERS OF THE DOMESTIC AND FOEEION MISSIONARY SOCII 

Of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U. S, A. 
I 

New Vokk, 23 Bihi.k House, A.l)., 1880. 



FRED LOCKLEY 

RARE WESTERN BOOKS 

4227 S. E. Stark St. 
PORTLAND. ORE. 



A L.t.rT'URI 



ON 



THE MANNERS >ND CUSTOMS OF THE JAPANESE, 



AND THE PROGRESS OF 



CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN JAPAN, 



BY 



REV. WM. B. COOPER, 



Of the Protestant Episcopal Mission, Tokio, Japan. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

BOARD OF MANAGERS OP THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 

Of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U. S. A. 
« 

New York, 23 Bible House, A.D., 1880. 



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A LECTURE ON 

THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE JAPANESE, 

AND THE PROGRESS OF 

CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN JAPAN. 



To understand, and estimate properly, the importance and prospects 
of our Missions in Japan, it is necessary to know something of the 
country and its resources ; the physical conditions under which the 
people live, their habits of life, and modes of thought. 

If our Foreign Missions languish, it is owing largely, I believe, to 
the fact that our people are not acquainted with the nations among * 
whom these Missions are established — are not convinced that they are 
in a condition to receive the Gospel — that men and means may be used 
among them with a hope of reasonable returns. 

This, at least, is the most charitable way in which I can reconcile 
the smallness of the Church's offerings with the magnitude of her For- 
eign work. 

If I succeed in conveying to the mind a true impression of Japan 
and the Japanese, the wonderful susceptibility of the people in receiv- 
ing new ideas and adopting new customs, and the manifold ways in 
which they have been prepared for the reception of the Gospel, I shall 
have made as strong a plea for the Church's prayers, and offerings, as I 
could hope to make. 

It is not my intention to preach a sermon, or confine myself to the 
established rules of a formal address, but to talk as plainly and famil- - 
iarly as I can, giving as far as possible the results of my own personal 
experience and observation during a stay of nearly five years in Japan. 

Japan has attracted possibly more attention during the past few years 
than any other country of the East, and she has well merited all of the 
interest manifested in her. She has not forced herself upon our notice 
by sych deeds as usually bring heathen nations before us, but by a frank 
acknowledgment of the superiority of our institutions over her own, and 
by a noble and ready willingness to discard her own civilization, though 
hallowed by associations two thousand years old, and adopt whatever 



there may be in our new and Western civilization, calculated to advance 
the welfare of her people. 

Closed for two thousand years, and alienated from the western world 
by the darkest superstitions, and the feeling that a people of heavenly 
ancestry (which they claim for themselves) could not mingle with us, 
a lower order of created beings whom they call " Barbarians," the won- 
derful revolutions both in the spirit of the people and policy of the gov- 
ernment are truly marvelous. 

I shall have occasion further on, to speak of some of these revolu- 
tions and changes, and so will proceed to tell something of Japan 
as a country, and of the habits of its people. 

Japan, it will doubtless be remembered, is an island of the Pacific 
just off the coast of Asia, from which it is separated by the sea of Japan. 
In the extreme north the mainland is quite visible, and in the extreme 
south is not more than fifty or sixty miles distant. It is about one 
thousand miles long, and from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
.•miles wide. 

EXTERNAL APPEARANCE. TREES AND FLOWERS. 

Mountain chains, interspersed here and there with active volcanoes, 
extend north and south throughout the entire land, and from these 
mountains, covered with the most beautiful evergreens, flow innumer- 
able creeks and rivulets to the sea. 

With a temperate climate, not unlike that of our Southern States, it 
has the external appearance of a tropical country. It abounds in 
immense forests of magnificent trees, and flowers, infinite in variety and 
beautiful beyond description, bloom throughout the entire year. The 
saying, however, though not altogether, is alas ! too true, that " the 
flowers of Japan have no odor, and its birds do not sing." 

The mineral wealth of Japan though great is comparatively unde- 
veloped. 

FERTILITY OF THE SOIL. PRODUCTS. - 

The soil is fertile, producing in some localities, two crops a year, 
and on some lands from forty to fifty bushels of grain to the acre. 

Altl^ugh less than one-third of the country has been brought under 
cultivation, it now supports a population of 33,000,000. When its for- 
ests shall have been felled, and its mountain lands utilized, it may easily 
be made to support twice this number. 

The lands are held by the government, and let out to the people at 
high rentals. The farmers work hard, and with inferior implements of 
husbandry, but generally earn a comfortable living. 

The principal products are Rice, Tea and Silk ; some Cotton is also 



grown. Fruit, though abundant and cheap, is inferior both in size and 
quahty to that of our own country. 

There is not that struggle for existence in Japan noticeable in other 
countries of the East, or even in some parts of Europe ; and thus we 
find the Japanese a contented, home people, not a migratory or dying 
people, but a living and growing people, proud of their nation and de- 
voted to its prosperity and growth. 

JAPAN, THE COUNTRY OF THE GODS. 

They claim that their country is the country of the gods, and that 
they are descendants of the gods. It may not be uninteresting to 
read a quotation from their ancient history or mythology, touching the 
creation of their country, and the origin of their people. As in other 
heathen countries, their gods are male and female. '' The first manifes- 
tation of the male," we are informed, " was Izanigi — of the female, Iza- 
nami — standing together on the floating bridge of heaven. The male 
plunged his jeweled spear or falchion into the unstable waters beneath 
and withdrawing it, the trickling drops formed an island on which they 
descended. The creative pair, designing to make this the pillar for a 
continent, separated, the male to the left, and the female to the right, to 
make a journey round the island. At the meeting, the female spake 
first and said, ' How joyful it is to meet alovely man.' The male spirit, 
offended that the first use of the tongue had been by aw^oman, required 
the circuit to be repeated. At the second meeting the man cried out 
first, ' How joyful to meet a lovely woman !' They were the first couple 
and this was the beginning of the art of love, and of the human race." 
The island with seven other large, and many other small ones, became 
the "Everlasting Great Japan." 

THE JAPANESE. 

Many of you have no doubt seen Japanese, so I need hardly describe 
them. They have a complexion but little lighter than our American 
Indians — have black almond-shaped eyes, straight black hair, and are 
small — the men not averaging more than five feet two or three inches 
in height. 

In their own loosely fitting, flowing costumes, they present a digni- 
fied and graceful appearance. The young ladies are exceedingly fond 
of dress in which they display good taste. Many of them spend hours 
every day before their mirrors, which, by the way, are not unfrequently 
on their front verandas, in arranging their hair, and other matters of 
the toilet, and in admiring their own wonderful beauty. They paint 
their lips and their cheeks, but they do not care who knows it. Indeed, 
if asked the name of the third finger, they will frankly tell you, " Rouge- 
applying finger." 



The Japanese are a very cleanly people in their habits. The whole 
nation bathes daily, in almost boiling water, and yet they have a pecu- 
liar, and at first a very disagreeable odor, owing no doubt to their 
peculiar diet. 

Now, they admire our white complexion and style of dress, but in 
other respects, at least of a personal character, think they excel us. 
They laugh at the peculiarity of our hair and eyes. " We," they say, 
" have black hair and black eyes, while some of you have black hair and 
white eyes, some white hair and black eyes, and some blue eyes and 
even red hair," and so on ad infinitum. 

As to the matter of odor, they say we are intolerable. A Japanese, 
the teacher of one of my Missionary friends, once remarked on entering 
his room, '' I knew you were in, before you opened the door." "How 
could you have known .?" asked my friend. " Why," said the Japanese, 
"I smelt you." 

JAPANESE DIET. 

The principal diet of the Japanese is fish, rice and vegetables. 
Although much more simple than a meat diet, upon it the Japanese per- 
form harder labor than almost any other people. 

MEN USED AS HORSES. 

Men in Japan are really used as beasts of burden. Much of the 
heavy produce of the country is conveyed in wagons drawn by men, 
and formerly travelling was done altogether in chairs carried by men, 

This mode of conveyance has recently been superseded by a kind of 
larger baby carriage on tv/o wheels, with shafts in front, called " Jinri- 
kisha," or man-power carriage. I have frequently ridden in these 
Jinrikishas, drawn by one man, fVom thirty-five to forty miles a day 
with apparent ease, and sometimes even with enjoyment to my steed.. 
It was with difficulty, however, that I could reconcile myself to driving 
these men, as horses, at full speed to church, and then address them, 
sitting in the front pew, as " Dearly beloved brethren." 

JAPANESE HOUSES. 

The Japanese houses are comfortable, well adapted to their climate, 
and will not soon give way to our modern style of architecture, owing 
to the frequency of fires (the whole city of Tokio being supposed to 
burn every seven years). They are usually built of cheap frame mate- 
rial. I have, however, seen a house said to be nearly a thousand years 
old, and still in good preservation. In external appearance Japanese 
houses do not differ materially from our own frame buildings, and the most 
marked difference in the inner appointments lies in the almost entire 
absence of furniture. The floors are covered with mats, six feet long, 



three feet wide, and about three inches thick. These mats are consid- 
ered equal to any and all of the emergencies of tables, chairs, and beds. 
One is never asked, on entering a Japanese house, to " take a chair," 
but simply to "sit down," which he does as best he can ; nor is there 
any " place of honor " at the table, since meals are served to each per- 
son separately on little stands eight or ten inches high, wherever he may 
be sitting when meal time arrives ; and there is left no room for specu- 
lation, in entering a house or hotel, as to the kind or quality of bed 
which is to be occupied. 

COUNTRY AND HOME LIFE. 

There is comparatively very little of country life in Japan, and noth- 
ing synonymous with our English word "home." The people live 
almost entirely in villages, towns, and cities ; and seek their diversions 
and pleasures at the various public places of amusement rather than in 
their own family circles. The evil effect of such a life can hardly be 
overestimated, and is largely owing, no doubt, to the inferior social posi- 
tion which woman occupies. 

woman's position in japan. 

She is regarded as a lower order of being, is allowed but few advan- 
tages of education, and seldom rises above the position of a mere slave. 

* '' The American who leaves his own country, in which the high 
honor paid to woman is the chief glory of the race to which he belongs, 
is shocked and deeply grieved in beholding her low estate in pagan 
lands. He sees the might of physical force, and the power of govern- 
ment and society in league, to keep her crushed, as near to the level of 
the unreplying brute as possible. He finds that the religious systems 
agree in denying to her a soul, and popular superstitions use her as a 
scape-goat of all tempted and sinning men, 

" He sees, too, young girls as pure as the purest of our own land, 
sold by their own parents for the basest of purposes, and in obedience 
to the sentiment of the country compelled to submit without a murmur 
to a life which they loathe, to disease, premature old age, and an early 
grave." 

The immorality of the Japanese is lamentably great. Virtue is an 
article of traffic, and is really the cheapest commodity in the country. 
The marriage tie, however, on the part of the Japanese wife, is regarded 
as most sacred, and her fidelity cannot be excelled. As soon as the 
marriage ceremony is ended, the young bride shaves her eyebrows, 
blackens her teeth, adopts a plain and uniform style of dress, and of 

* "The Mikado's Empire." 



arranging the hair ; thus averting or avoiding as far as possil)le the atten- 
tion and admiration of the world. 

Japanese women make excellent mothers, according to their con- 
ceptions of maternal duties, and are model housewives. They are eco- 
nomical and industrious in their habits, and have a secret power of con- 
trolling their children which has certainly not been discovered by some 
even in our own country. I have spent weeks in Japanese families with- 
out ever noticing any unkind act from one child to another, or the 
slightest disregard for parental authority, and yet during my entire stay 
in Japan, I do not remember seeing more than two or three children 
punished, and have seldom even heard them scolded or reproved. 

" Honor thy father, and thy mother," more, possibly, than any other 
injunction or precept, recommends to the Japanese the Christian 
religion. 

POLITENESS OF THE JAPANESE. 

The politeness of the Japanese is, I believe, proverbial. It seems to 
be an inseparable quality of the people. Some persons are polite by 
force of circumstances ; some on particular occasions ; a Japanese is 
naturally and always polite. He never forgets his politeness, because 
he has never learned it. He seems to have it by instinct. It is the 
pride of the nation, the strongest tenet of his social and religious code. 
When Japanese meet each other in their houses they always kneel down, 
bowing their heads to the floor two or three times, and apologize at the 
same time for being so impolite. In entering or going out of doors, 
they sometime contend for five minutes as to who shall go first ; and he 
who is finally compelled to take the lead, cannot do so without first 
saying he is exceedingly impolite. If a Japanese should be inadvertently 
run against, and knocked down in the street, he would get up, no 
doubt, and beg the man's pardon who did it. 

Any breach of etiquette without an immediate apology, is often 
fraught with the most serious results. I remember reading of a man 
being unintentionally pushed from the steps of a public building, and 
the person who did it, forgetting, or neglecting to ask pardon, the 
offended man got up, drew his sword, and committed suicide. The 
other party was expected to return the compliment by killing himself ; 
this being the only honorable way of settling so grave a difficulty. 

In business transactions, it is not polite for the parties interested to 
discuss the matter, but a middle man must be employed who smoothes 
the way, and makes it possible for the parties interested to tell a dozen 
complimentary lies without prejudicing in any way the interests involved. 

A Japanese always depreciates what belongs to himself, and praises 



that which belongs to another. To an American this politeness is abso- 
lutely painful, and makes years of the closest association with the peo- 
ple necessary to understand their real feelings. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

There are no people more fond of amusements than the Japanese. 
They are called the "French of the East," and are in reality nothing 
more than a nation of children. Their most popular amusements are 
the theatre and wrestling matches. One play at.,.-the theatre often lasts a 
whole week, beginning at eight or nine a.m., and closing at five or six 
P.M. Whole families go together, taking their lunches with them, or are 
supplied from restaurants near by. The plays are principally dramatic. 
The Japanese are naturally good actors and have the stimulus of large 
and attentive audiences. 

The wrestling matches draw the most immense crowds. The last 
match which 1 attended was Avitnessed by at least fifty thousand per- 
sons. As there was no fee for admission, I wondered how the per- 
formances would be made to pay, but soon the mystery was solved, as 
one by one I saw some infatuated and admiring spectator arise, take off 
his coat and throw it to the successful competitor of the ring. 

Although the Japanese, as I have remarked, are a people of small 
stature, the wrestlers are among these largest men I ever saw. Some of 
them are as much as six feet two or three inches high, and weigh between 
two hundred and fifty and three hundred pounds. 

WANT OF SERIOUSNESS. 

The Japanese as a nation are devoid of seriousness. There is no 
subject so sad, which if broken suddenly upon them, will not provoke a 
smile. 

I have not unfrequently heard them speak of some serious loss or 
bereavement with faces beaming with smiles, and had them laugh out- 
right when informing me of the death of some relative or dear friend. 

This is not from want of sympathy or affection for their friends, for 
the Japanese are kindly disposed and have very strong attachments, but 
they are taught to treat all kinds of bodily or mental pain with con- 
tempt, it not being thought manly or brave to manifest any evidence of 
suffering. 

REVERENCE FOR LAW. 

Though amiable, gentle and inoffensive in their manners, if once 
aroused, they are very dangerous. They have but little fear of death, 
and are not unfrequently restrained from murder, suicides and other 
crimes simply by their great reverence for the Emperor, and his laws. 

I cannot better illustrate their reverence for law than by alluding to 
an incident which came under my own observation. 



10 



In the Southern portion of the Empire there stands upon a precipi- 
tous hill overlooking a deep and rocky ravine, a large and popular 
temple. It was thought that if a man threw himself from the porch 
of this temple upon the stones below, a distance of forty or fifty feet, 
and escaped unhurt, he would always be greatly blessed by the gods. 
Though no one ever succeeded in proving the truthfulness of the 
superstition, suicide became so frequent that the government ordered 
large palings put up to prevent persons from throwing themselves 
down ; but this not succeeding, a law was at last passed, and nailed up 
in a conspicuous place before the temple. It read thus : 

" Persons positively forbidden to commit suicide here." 

I was told that it had the most wholesome effect. 

CIVILIZATION, EDUCATION, LANGUAGE. 

Though secluded for so many centuries and cut off from all inter- 
course with the outer world, Japan has not been without its civiliza- 
tion, and that of no mean kind. 

Its ancient bronzes, porcelains, lacquered wares, wood carvings, 
and silk embroideries, would compare favorably with works of like 
kind, whether in our own ancient or modern art. 

Many of its old temples and palaces were built at an expense of 
millions of dollars, and display a high degree of architectural skill, a 
deep religious sentiment, and a very cultured taste. 

The physical sciences are but little known in Japan, but education 
of a lower grade is possibly more generally diffused than in any other 
country. 

I have met with but few Japanese who could not read and write, 
even among the lower classes, and to learn to read and write in Japa- 
nese requires almost as much labor as would be necessary to acquire 
an ordinary common school English education. 

In quickness of intellect or brilliancy of wit, it is hardly necessary 
to say that the Japanese are not to be excelled. Their students abroad 
have abundantly testified to their mental abilities, some of them 
having taken away prizes from our best Universities, as well as from 
those of England and the continent of Europe. 

The memory of the Japanese is quite remarkable. I once gave a 
boy a lesson to learn from one of our catechisms, telling him to get as 
much as he could. Three or four days afterward when he came to 
recite I found that he had committed the whole book. 

The literature of Japan is principally of a historical or mythological 
character. The Japanese language has an alphabet but Chinese char- 
acters are also used. 



II 

The works of Confucius and other Chinese sages, bear the same 
relation to Japanese learning as the Latin and Greek classics to a lib- 
eral education in Europe or America. And thus we find the educated 
classes among the Japanese fairly conversant with the characters and 
literature of China. 

There is no similarity whatever between the two languages ; the 
Chinese being rough and monosyllabic, while the Japanese is smooth, 
flowing and polysyllabic. 

JAPANESE RELIGIONS. 

The Japanese are a very religious people, as the number of their 
temples and their innumerable gods would indicate. Their temples 
are generally built in secluded groves, and though not striking in out- 
ward appearance, some of them are very highly decorated and beauti- 
ful within. A single incident may serve to illustrate the force of the 
religious instinct and sentiment of the people. 

While passing through the Art Gallery of the National Exhibition 
in Japan, my attention was called to a very large and handsome picture 
which seemed to attract more than ordinary interest. It was a repre- 
sentation of the death of " Dai Butsu," or " Great Buddha." Around 
the spot where he lay dying, were birds and animals of all kinds in the 
attitude of weeping adoration. Nearly three thousand years had 
elapsed since his death, but his memory was still fresh in the minds 
and hearts of his followers. Few among the great throng of curious 
spectators, even in the crowd and hurry of the exhibition passed that 
picture without stopping to drop a tear, or utter a silent prayer. 

Buddhism. — Buddhism is the principal religion of Japan. It was first 
preached some time in the sixth century. Its missionaries were the 
pioneers of that civilization which has done so much for Japan. 
It embodies some good moral teaching, but is a gloomy atheism, 
and teaches the transmigration of souls, and final annihilation. 
" Life," it says, " is the brigin and cause of pain, and the only 
happiness for man is in getting rid of existence. Follow the com- 
mandments of Buddha, live the true believer's life and you will 
be born into higher and higher states of existence, until *you 
are finally absorbed into the bosom of Buddha; get out of that circle 
of deaths and births, and you are extinguished as the light of a candle. 
Reject the teaching of Buddha and you will be born into lower and 
lower states of existence ; suffer innumerable deaths, and continue 
still to be born until an opportunity is offered for rising higher." 

According to Buddhism the true religious life consists in severe 
penances, frequent fastings, the daily repetition of innumerable mean- 
ingless prayers, and constant meditation. 



12 



When Buddhism first came to Japan it found a religion and com- 
promised with it. The ancient gods of the country were but different 
manifestations of Buddha which the people might continue to worship. 

Polytheism. — Polytheism is still prevalent. The principal objects of 
worship are Sun, Moon and Stars, Thunder and Lightning, Rivers, 
Mountains and Trees, the Mikado, the souls of ancient heroes, and of 
their deceased parents and ancestors. 

Confucianism. — Confucianism, which is really nothing more than a 
philosophy, dealing alone with the things of time, prevails to a certain 
extent among the educated classes. But we find in Japan some who 
are in advance of, and better than their religions ; men who live above 
them, who are led by a clearer light, in whose hearts may be found a 
spark of that True Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into 
the world ; men like Plato and Socrates, true seekers after God, ready 
and waiting to see and accept the salvation of the Lord. 

NEW JAPAN. 

I have attempted to give, though necessarily brief and indefinite, 
some idea of Old Japan, or Japan under its old civilization and heathen 
religions. 

We will now consider for a few minutes New Japan, or Japan in 
contact with our western civilization, and under the dawning light of 
the Gospel of Christ. 

It will doubtless be remembered that the first overtures made by 
Commodore Perry, on the part of our government, toward effecting a 
treaty with Japan, were met by a blunt and immediate refusal, and that 
it was not until the Japanese government saw that resistance was in 
vain that it consented, though reluctantly, to admit the " Barbarians " 
(as they called us) upon that sacred soil. 

Mikado and Taicoon. — There were in Japan at this time two rulers, 
the Mikado, or as he is sometimes called, the " Spiritual ruler," and the 
" Shogoon," or " Temporal ruler." The Mikado was the lawful head 
of the government, and had for more than a thousand years held 
undisputed sway. The Shogoon, or " Lesser ruler," as the word im- 
plies, was originally but a vassal, or genera]. He had gradually added 
to his claims and power, however, until he now called himself " Taicoon," 
or Great ruler, and though but a usurper, was in reality the ruling 
power in the land. Under him had developed a most burdensome 
feudalism, and the most rigid caste which must ever have proved an 
effectual barrier against any attempt at reform. 

The Mikado from centuries of seclusion and isolation from the 
outer world, at first of divine ancestry, had now developed into a real 



13 

god. He was never seen in public, or even in private, except bv a few 
of the chosen nobility. When he had occasion to visit different por- 
tions of the country, he always traveled in a closely curtained car, 
drawn by bullocks, and at the approach of this car, all persons, whether 
in the fields, the streets or in their houses, were compelled to prostrate 
themselves and worship the supposed divinity, enshrined within. 

Tired of the divinity which had so long hedged him in, the Mikado 
gladly took advantage of the opportunity now offered to assert his rights 
as a man. 

The causes which led to the overthrow of the Taicoon are too 
numerous and complicated to mention here. The feeling against him, 
which had been increasing for years, aggravated by his regard for for- 
eigners and foreign civilization, was made at last the pretext for a 
change of government. The Mikado, taking advantage of this anti- 
foreign sentiment with which neither he nor his ministers sympathised, 
assumed the reins of government, and with scarcely a battle, declared 
himself the sole ruler of Japan. 

Soon, the same charges of friendliness to foreigners, brought against 
the Taicoon were made against the Mikado, and the discontent of the 
people manifested itself for a time in some serious revolutions ; which 
only served, however, to show the firm and resolute policy of the gov- 
ernment, and the division, weakness and decay of the anti-reform party. 

WONDERFUL REFORMS. 

With the reinstatement of the Mikado, and change of government 
in Japan, followed in quick succession the abolition of feudalism, and 
of the military class; the reducing of the nobility to the ranks of mere 
citizens ; the disestablishment of Buddhism, and the various other 
reforms, so startling and yet so real as to challenge at once the wonder 
and admiration of the civilized world. 

Thus we noticed, with the very entrance of our civilization, possibly 
the greatest reforms recorded in the annals of history. 

I shall now endeavor to picture to your minds a few of the external 
and visible effects of our civilization, such as would be observed by the 
casual visitor to Japan. No one, however, can conceive how deeply and 
widely it has permeated the nation, without mingling with the people, 
conversing with them on the subject, observing their greed for any and 
all kinds of knowledge about foreign countries, the avidity with which 
they appropriate such knowledge, and the vanity with which they dis- 
play what they may chance to know. 

From the deck of the steamship " China," on the evening of Octo- 
ber, 17, 1873, I caught a last glimpse of the receding shores of California. 



I would have narrowed the ocean, drawn the shores of my native land, 
now doubly dear to me, nearer to my future home, had I been able to 
have done so. Twenty-four days, five thousand two hundred miles, 
through storm and calm, and the Captain bade us look for land. 

Soon in the distance we saw the snow-capped summit of Fujiyama, 
the great sacred mountain of Japan. Solitary it stands upon a level 
plain, and as symmetrical as from an artist's .chisel, lifts its head, a per- 
fect cone, 14,000 feet up into the blue of heaven. Some Japanese on 
board returning home, bowed and worshipped it. Symmetrical from sum- 
mit to base, white with the driven snow, typical T thought that great 
mountain was, of Christ, for so He shall rise above all philosophers, 
sages and idols, and sharing with none shall claim the undivided rever- 
ence and worship of Japan, 

Histories written fifteen years ago are already old histories of Japan, 

YOKAHAMA. 

Yokohama, where we landed, twenty-six years ago but a small fishing 
village, has now a population of seventy thousand, two thousand of 
whom are foreigners. A portion of the city is laid off in handsome 
streets, built up with foreign stores not inferior either in point of size, 
or quality of merchandise to those of our own cities. It has its banks, 
its courthouses, its post-offices, its churches, and I must not fail to add, 
its billiard and drinking saloons, almost without number. Overhead 
in the streets may be seen the telegraph wires which extend north and 
south, throughout the whole length of the land. 

In the harbor where the American men-of-war puffed and blew 
twenty-six years ago, to the consternation of the inhabitants of the sur- 
rounding country, may now be seen merchant ships, bearing the flags of 
all the civilized nations of the world. In the distance may be heard the 
whistle of the steam engine, which now whirls one through sixty miles 
of country. 

A Missionary to Siam, returning home after a stay of more than forty 
years in his distant field, saw a rail-road and train of cars for the first 
time here at Yokohama. He was so overcome with delight that he 
jumped up and clapped his hands like a child. 

TOKIO. 

An hour's ride by rail brought me to Yedo, or Tokio, as it is now 
called. I was met by a Missionary who had come to escort me to ray 
new home. In area Tokio is one of the largest cities in the world, but 
has only a population of about 1,000,000. Our civilization up to this 
time had made but little perceptible change in the external aspect of the 
great city. 



IS 

My friend, after some gesticulation and much loud talk, finally 
succeeded in contracting for jinrikishas, or the little "man-power car- 
riage," of which I spoke, to take us to the different places of interest 
in the city. It is always necessary to have a definite understanding 
with these horse-men before getting into their vehicles. I rode through 
the city once with a party of tourists, and in getting out of my carriage 
I handed the man who drew me the proper amount of money, which he 
gladly accepted with the most profound bow. When my companions 
offered a like amount, their men drew back indignantly, each protesting 
that it was not nearly enough for them to pay. I interposed, condemning 
the swindle, whereupon they replied, '' Why, you understand the lan- 
guage, and what you gave is the proper price, but these men don't, and 
it is unfair not to allow us to take advantage of their ignorance." 

After a day of constant wonder, for we went from one heathen 
temple to another, and to almost every place of interest in the city, we 
drove up before a Buddhist temple, which was to be my first home in 
Japan. The priest in charge had consented for a reasonable consider- 
ation, heathen and barbarian though he considered us, to allow us to 
occupy a portion of his sacred building. 

Our apartments were divided by paper walls from the room in which 
the idols were kept, and in which the people worshipped. The sur- 
roundings were not such as to make me feel altogether at home to say 
the least. Being somewhat fatigued we retired early, but I had 
scarcely fallen asleep, when I heard a noise like that of distant thunder. 
Soon the timbers of the house began to creak, the bed to shake, and 
everything to predict a general crash. ''This," said my friend, "is only an 
earthquake." As to how long it would continue, or how much reserve 
force it had, no one in the house felt safe to venture even a conjecture, 
but I know the fact came very forcibly to my mind that twenty-five years 
before one shock had destroyed fifty thousand persons in Yedo alone. 

It was soon over, but I had scarcely fallen asleep again when we 
heard the cry of fire. Learning that we were in no immediate danger, 
I went to sleep again, not to be disturbed until our neighbor, the 
Buddhist priest, at the most extraordinary hour, by no means yet day, 
began beating a drum and singing his long and monotonous prayers 
which lasted for hours. 

Thus during my first night Twas introduced to the most fre([uent and 
dreaded enemies with which the resident of Tokio has to contend. 

Time forbids me giving fully my first and favorable impression of 
Japan. I believe, however, that I participated in that wonderful infat- 
uation manifested by all during their first week in Japan, 



i6 

The politeness of the people, the cleanliness of their houses, the 
beauty of their gardens, the magnificence of their temples and temple 
grounds — in fact everything is unlike one's preconceived ideas of a. 
heathen people and a heathen land. 

I shall now pass on to Tokio as it is. 

At the time of my arrival in 1873, the principal reforms had been 
inaugurated, and many of the enterprises now so flourishing had even 
then been fairly begun. 

COLLEGES. ■ 

There is now in Tokio a University with a large staff of foreign pro- 
fessors. Connected with it, there is a College of Civil Engineering, a 
large and flourishing Medical School, with German professors of high 
standing, and also a department of Law. 

There is also in the city a Naval College under the direction of offi- 
cers of the English Navy, an Army School under the direction of the 
French, and an Agricultural Department and School under the man- 
agement of Americans. Connected with this School are several farms, 
with horses, cows, sheep and other animals imported from America. 

The land is cultivated on the American plan, with American imple- 
ments of husbandry, and under the supervision of American farmers of 
experience. All of these departments have large and handsome foreign 
buildings, as well as residences for the various employees. 

PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS. FOREIGN STORES AND 

MERCHANDIZE. 

There are also a number of public and private hospitals and schools 
built upon the American and European plan. 

The government has now built up a portion of the city -with brick 
stores from two to three stories high. These stores are rented to Jap- 
anese merchants, and are used almost exclusively for the sale of foreign 
merchandise. Almost any article to be had in London, Paris, or New 
York, may now be had on the Tori in Tokio. 

Some of the principal streets of the city are lit with gas and, whether 
by day or night would compare favorably with the streets of our own 
American towns. Many of the men of Japan have recently adopted the 
foreign dress. No officer of the government is allowed to appear at his 
office unless in foreign uniform. Some of the government officials and 
merchants of Tokio have their houses furnished throughout in foreign 
style as handsomely and with as much taste as any in our own country. 

Foreign food is being largely adopted. Bread, in many houses, has 
almost taken the place of rice. Full rations of bread and beef are now 
regulary issued to the students of the different colleges. Six years ago 



17 

there were not more than two or three meat markets in the city. There 
is now scarcely a street where beef may not be had. Although the 
Japanese have always raised cattle, they were until recently used entirely 
as beasts of burden. 

The Buddhistic doctrine of transmigration of souls forbade the 
taking of life. In eating a palatable beefsteak a man might be guilty 
of the awful canibalism of feeding upon his innocent old grandmother, 
or some other member of the family, but the appetite of the Japanese 
proved stronger than his conscience, and his religious scruples soon 
disappeared. The beefsteak finally prevailed. 

THE PRESS. 

Among the civilizing influences at work in Japan, there is none 
more worthy of mention than the Press. There are now in Tokio 
alone more than a dozen daily, native papers, edited and published by 
Japanese ; some of them very ably conducted, and are strong advo- 
cates of our religion and of our civilization. 

Some of the most highly educated men of Japan have given, and 
are still giving much of their time and energies to the translation of 
English books. Our best authors on Political Economy, Moral and 
Mental Philosophy, History and Law may be now read in the Japa- 
nese language. 

JAPANESE LAW. 

The laws of Japan up to this time have been most arbitrary, little 
more than the edicts of the Emperor. Judges are appointed by the 
government without any regard for the knowledge even of Japanese 
law, and act generally in the capacity of both counsel and judge. 
Trial by jury has not yet been allowed. 

The government has, however, employed a number of French 
jurists who are now engaged in framing a code similar to that used in 
France. This will no doubt become the law of Japan. 

CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN. 

I will now dwell briefly upon the rise and progress of Christian Mis- 
sions in Japan, and give some of the reasons for predicting that she is 
soon to be made one of the greatest conquests of the Cross. 

It would be unfair to speak of the influence and success of mis- 
sions in Japan, without alluding to the peculiar obstacles which con- 
fronted them from the very first. 

Had Christianity come to Japan for the first time, with our civiliza- 
tion, it would, I believe, have been as readily and willingly accepted. 
Such however, was not the case. More than three centuries ago 
Francis Xavier, that great pioneer of the Cross in so many lands, went 



first as Missionary to Japan. It required the heart of a true man, fired 
with more than ordinary zeal to undertake a mission fraught with so 
many dangers. I will not dwell upon his labors, or the manifold mira- 
cles claimed to have been wrought by him ; reliable history shows us 
however, that he laid the foundation of what under his immediate suc- 
cessors became a very flourishing Mission. It is said that there were 
between six and seven hundred thousand Christians in Japan at the end 
of the 1 6th century. The Missionaries of the different orders, Jesuits, 
Franciscans and Augustinians soon, however, become jealous of each 
other, drew their converts into political plots, incited them to intrigue, 
and even open war, for the advancement of their several ends, and 
at last brought upon them the fury of the government, which did not 
spend itself until sixty thousand Christians were put to death, and 
Christianity entirely swept from the land. *" The Christians suffered 
all kinds of persecutions. They were wrapped in straw sacks, piled 
in heaps of living fuel, and set on fire. All the tortures that bar- 
baric hatred or refined cruelty could invent were used to turn thous- 
ands of their fellow men into carcasses or ashes. Yet few natives 
quailed, or renounced their faith. They calmly let the fire of the 
wood, cleft from the crosses before which they once prayed, consume 
them, or walked cheerfully to the ' blood pit,' or were flung alive into 
the open grave about to be filled up. Mothers carried their babes at 
their bosoms, or their children in their arms to the fire, the sword or 
the precipice's edge, rather than leave them behind to be educated in the 
pagan faith. If any one doubts the sincerity and fervor of the Christian 
converts of to-day, or the ability of the Japanese to accept a higher 
form of faith or their willingness to suffer for what they believe, he 
has but to read the accounts preserved in English, Dutch, French, 
Latin, and Japanese, of various witnesses to the fortitude of the Japa- 
nese Christians of the 17th century. The annals of the primitive 
Church furnish no instances of sacrifice or heroic constancy in the 
Coliseum, or the Roman arenas, that were not paralleled on the dry 
river beds and execution grounds of Japan." 

For nearly three hundred years it has been a part of the education 
of the Japanese to be taught to hate " Yasu," or Jesus, and to regard 
Christianity as the enemy to the loyalty, peace, and purity of society. 
But eight years ago one, walking through the streets of Tokio, might 
have seen written on large boards, nailed up in the most public places, 
edicts forbidding any one to embrace the " corrupt and dangerous Chris- 

* See Chapter on Christianity and foreigners. 



19 

tian faith." Up to this time services were held for the most part in 
private houses, and attended by a few shy and suspicious natives, prin- 
cipally the servants and scholars of the Missionaries. 

In 1872 these edicts were removed from the streets. Little by little 
we saw the prejudices of the people vanish, and the policy of the gov- 
ernment relent. Our congregations began immediately to increase, 
men and women were baptized and became Catechists and teachers, 
and chapels were soon opened here and there throughout the whole 
city. There are now more than a dozen churches in the heart of Tokio, 
where public services are held almost daily. 

TEN THOUSAND CHRISTIANS IN JAPAN. 

The few timid worshippers have increased to thousands, and now go 
boldly " up to the House of God." To-day there are ten thousand 
professing Christians in Japan. The same creed and commandments 
which we once learned, are now recited in our Sunday Schools by hun- 
dreds of boys and girls, and our old familiar hymns are not unfrequently 
heard in the streets of Tokio and Yokahama. 

Men and women, who a few years ago were idolators, filled with every 
dark superstition, now play our church organs, form our church choirs, 
and superintend and teach in our Sunday Schools. 

SCHOOLS. 

The Church is not our only school, nor the Bible our only text book. 
We have schools in our private houses, where a good English education 
may be had, and where the Japanese boys and girls, removed from 
their corrupt and heathen associations, may see something of Christian 
family life. 

LIVING CHRIST. PREACHING CHRIST. 

One of our Japanese scholars, fifteen years of age, was baptized con- 
trary to the wishes of many of his heathen relatives and friends. On 
one occasion they taunted him with the decline of power in the Church. 
"We read," said they, "in the Bible of the apostles performing mira- 
cles, and with the promise of this power to their successors. Why don't 
your ministers now perform miracles.'*" Instantly he replied, " They 
do perform miracles." " Do they ?" his friends asked. " What kind of 
miracles ? We should like to see some of them. " Well," said he, " I 
live with three Christian ministers, all of them single men. 'J'hey do not 
drink whiskey, nor commit adultery but are honest, upright, charitable 
men, who work every day for us, without any other hope of remunera- 
tion save our good. This certainly is a miracle in Japan." 

woman's work. 

Our schools are well patronized and are an important element both 



20 

in the civilization and Christianizing of Japan. I wish I had time to 
rehearse what the ladies of the various Missions are doing in this and 
other departments of Missionary work. I can only say, that there 
are a number of them at work in Japan — (three of our own Church,) 
who are laboring earnestly and with much success, going into heathen 
households, speaking to women who otherwise could never be reached, 
instructing them in Christian duties and lifting them from their degra- 
dation to the position of Christian wives and mothers. 

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AND MEDICAL MISSION. 

We have the beginning of a Theological Seminary for the building 
up of a native Ministry which must ever be of the vastest importance to 
our work. We have also a medical Missionary who by his zealous and 
efficient labors, lias done much to recommend the cause. 

The number of our Communicants and baptized members, of our 
Catechists and teachers, the efficiency of our schools, or the size of our 
congregation can give but a poor conception of the influence which 
Christianity is exerting in Japan. 

Powerfully, though quietly it is at work in the hearts of the people 
removing ignorance and old prejudices and leading the nation onward, 
slowly, though surely into the church of God. 

HEATHEN RELIGIONS LOSING THEIR HOLD. 

As I observed before, the Japanese are a very religious people, and 
may point to the number and magnificence of their temples with a just 
pride. Hundreds of these once beautiful temples, however, are now in 
ruins and in some localities idols are considered of no more value than 
the stone or bronze which they represent. Men of position are seldom 
seen at temple worship, and there is a very noticeable falling off in 
attendance, even among the lower classes. 

I walked over a stone bridge away off in the interior of Japan, made 
of idols, laid there by the hands that once fashioned them for worship. 

In the centre of Tokio, surrounded by a magnificent grove of forest 
trees stands what was once the great Confucian Temple and College of 
Japan. It has been recently converted, by the government, into a pub- 
lic Library and Reading Room. In a conspicuous place in the library 
room, stands the once popular shrine of Confucius, now neglected and 
closed, while on book-shelves on either side may be seen the Bible, 
Evidences of Christianity, Sermons by various authors, and other Chris- 
tian books. The government has also made our Sunday the national 
holiday. 

THE BIBLE. 

A few years ago the people would not accept, or read the Bible under 



21 



any circumstances. It is now purchased in large numbers, and read 
with great interest. Passing a temple in the interior of the county, I 
noticed several heathen priests pouring intently over a book which lay 
before them. Observing me, they immediately invited me to come in 
and tell them something of the wonderful book. It was the Bible they 
were reading, and they listened to what I told them about it, with the 
most profound interest. These heathen priests now frequently- make 
quotations from the Bible in their sermons. 

Our Missionary physician was once called in to see a dying man. 
On entering the room he noticed that he was dead. By his side sat his 
bereaved wife weeping ; near by he noticed an open book. " My hus- 
band got this book " said the woman, " while passing a Christian 
chapel. He brought it home, and soon after was taken sick. Since 
that day it has been constantly in his hands. In it he told me that he 
had found his Saviour, and that he died full of hope. Wont you 
teach it to me -^ " Fifteen cents was the price of that Bible. What a 
blessing God sent upon that small offering ! It must have been given 
with an humble and earnest prayer. What a consolation would it be 
for any one to know that he gave the price of that Bible which saved 
that poor man's soul ! 

INCREASING DESIRE OF THE PEOPLE TO HEAR THE GOSPEL. 

Every mail from Japan brings appeals for more Missionaries, and 
tidings of the wide spread and increasing desire of the people to 
hear the Gospel and to be baptized into the Church. 

I once visited a little town eighty miles in the interior of the country, 
and gave notice that I would preach. Before the appointed time had 
come, the paper partitions of the house were removed, and the whole 
house thrown into one large room. It was soon so crowded that I 
could scarcely find standing room. The subject of my sermon was 
Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World." No sooner had the words 
fallen from my lips, than a man got up in the congregation and said, 
" I hate that name, Jesus." "Please tell the congregation why you 
hate him," I said. He had only been taught to hate Him, knew noth- 
ing about Him, and so sat down. After listening a few moments he 
arose and said, " I don't hate Jesus." 

As I went on preaching, old men, who could not hear distinctly, came 
and sat at my very feet. Occasionally I forgot a word, but instantly 
some one would give it to me, and so with the assistance of this con- 
gregation who were now listening to Christianity for the first time, I 
completed my sermon, and sat down, amid the cry from a dozen voices, 
" Go on, we want to hear more." 



22 

I had no sooner retired to my private room than it was filled with 
persons deeply interested, who wished to inquire particularly about 
Christianity, and some of them asking to be baptized. 

The following day (Saturday) I went to a village about ten miles 
distant, and about three thousand feet down the mountain. On Sunday 
morning before I had arisen, I heard some one inquire, at the hotel 
where I was stopping, if the Christian Missionary was there, and would 
he preach again that day. Ten miles they had walked to hear another 
sermon. 

HEATHEN AT HOME. 

There are many persons who would excuse themselves from giving 
to the support of Foreign Missions, because, say they, there are heathen 
enough at home. Now my brethren, I am not at all disposed to con- 
trovert that fact. Indeed, the great majority of the people of Christian 
America, as it is called, are ruled by motives but little higher than 
those which govern the life of the ordinary, respectable citizen of Japan ; 
and the records of crime, committed in New York, for instance, abso- 
lutely shock the sensibilities of the citizens of Tokio. 

But is this an argument against Foreign Missions ? Do our people 
sin ignorantly ? Do they not commit their crimes in the plain violation 
of the laws of the country, as well as of the laws of God ? 

Is the religious indifferentism which we see around us the result of 
ignorance, or owing to the Church's neglect to instruct or warn the 
people .'' 

Let any one disposed to make this charge, enter our Churches, and 
behold the " sad array of empty pews," or listen to the melancholy 
story of unsuccessful attempts by earnest laymen and faithful Clergy, 
to reach the masses of the people. 

Ah ! if our people are in darkness, it is really because they love 
'' darkness rather than light," and since they count themselves unwor- 
thy of eternal life, the Church is at liberty (yea it is her duty) to turn 
to the Gentiles — to the poor, hungering, seeking, willing souls ready to 
hear and accept the truth. 

CHRISTIAN CONVERTS. 

But I am not unfrequently asked. What effect has Christianity upon 
the lives of those who embrace it ? Two examples, one of Christian 
living, the other of a Christian death must suffice as an answer to the 
question. One day, after preaching a sermon on Christian charity, a 
member of my congregation came to me and said, " The old rice mer- 
chant is giving away all that he has," and begged me to interpose. 
Now, he was a poor old cripple, and earned his living by hard and 



23 

constant toil, and yet, he felt that as a Christian man, he had no right to 
keep more than was necessary to sustain life, while so many around 
him were in need. The same old man came to me a few days before 
leaving Japan, and asked me to baptize his wife and daughter. I 
expressed my surprise, for I remembered that they did all in their 
power to prevent his becoming a Christian. But the consistency of his 
life had removed their prejudices, and they now wished to become 
Christians too, and receive that power which had so transformed his life. 

The death was that of a widow with three helpless, dependant chil- 
dren. Sitting by her bed-side, a few hours before her death, I asked if 
there was anything that troubled her.^ She replied, " one thing only." 
I supposed she was anxious about her children, but said she "no, God 
will take care of them, but I did want so much to live to see your new 
Chapel opened." 

^ Here, this poor suffering woman, a Christian for less than a year, 
with three dependant children, had but one thought in the hour of her 
death, and but one prayer. It was that she might be permitted to live 
to see another church opened where her people might hear of the love 
of God in Christ. 

"A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." There is a wide spread 
feeling in Japan that Christianity is superior to its own religions, that 
the true Christian \^ far better than the heathen man. 

I have told you that Japan is one of the prettiest countries upon the 
face of the earth, that it has a genial climate, a fertile soil, a large, intel- 
lectual and industrious population, and of the marvellous progress which 
it has made in civilization within the past few years. 

I have told you that the Japanese are a religious people, of the 
decay of their heathen religion, and of the willingness and rapidity 
with which they embrace the Christian faith. I believe it requires no 
great foresight to predict for Japan, and at no distant day, an important 
place among the civilized nations of the earth. 

It need require no longer time to see her a Christian nation. Indeed, 
the agencies at work to make her Christian are far more potent than 
those to make her civilized. But, speaking for our own Church, the 
means which she has used are in no proportion to the results her Mis- 
sionary character ought to make her expect and claim. The whiteness 
of the field is sadly in contrast with the number of laborers she has sent 
forth. 

Our Bishop and the Rev. John Liggins (now retired) were the first 
Missionaries of reformed Christianity to Japan. Ten long years in con- 
stant prayer and humble trust, this noblest of the Church's Bishops, 
patiently abided God's time, and now when the fullness of that time 



24 

has come, he calls, and calls for help. Six Presbyters* comprise his 
entire Clerical force, and they, for want of sufficient means, are met by 
great difficulties in carrying on their work. 

OUR NEEDS. 

Men and women to whose consciences the Holy Spirit has brought 
with an awful sense of personal responsibility, the last words of our 
Ascended Lord, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to 
every creature," have accepted the call with the ready response, " Here 
am I, Lord ! send me ;" and yet the Committee for Foreign Missons, 
for want of means are unable to send out all who do apply, and who are 
so sorely needed. We need the men ; we need the women ; we need 
money to send them out, and to support them. We need money for our 
Boys' and Girls' Schools, and for our Theological Seminary, that we 
may raise up a native Ministry. We need money again to build Churches 
worthy of our religion, churches at least so large that we need neither 
crowd them nor turn away members of our congregation, nor be com- 
pelled to breath the vitiated air of densely crowded rooms. 

Our needs, indeed, are great, but they are only in proportion to our 
opportunities for accomplishing great results ; opportunities for which God 
will hold us responsible I Prayers and offerings now mean the salvation of 
men and women from iniquity and death, speedily. 

Are there any too poor to give something to this cause, a cause which 
more than any other presses upon the heart of the Son of God ? 

If, in speaking of the Japanese, I have dwelt principally upon their 
virtues, it is not because their vices are few, but because they are of 
such a nature as to preclude more than a bare mention in the presence 
of Christian refinement, '^ For it is a shame even to speak of the things 
done of them in secret." 

Christian women ! what appeal could be more eloquent to you than 
the sad and simple facts I have given of the condition of the women of 
Japan ? Christians ! Japan appeals to you all. She appeals to you 
with all the sad eloquence of a nation buried in spiritual darkness, and 
steeped in sin, "Without God and without hope in the world." She 
appeals to you with all the proofs of her readiness to receive the truth. 
She appeals to you by the love of a common Lord, who loved her and 
gave Himself for her. She is worthy of your offerings and of your 
prayers. The honor of the Church demands them ; our blessed Lord 
expects them. What will you do then to make Him at His second com- 
ing see in the conversion of this great nation " of the travail of His 
soul," that He may be satisfied. 

* Another gentleman is under ' appointment, which takes effect upon his ordina- 
tion, say in July. — Ed. ^ 



